We all want small businesses to succeed in Wyoming. Growing our small businesses and supporting entrepreneurs is vital to diversifying our state’s economy.
But for many small business owners, the high cost of healthcare in Wyoming remains a considerable obstacle. This is partly the result of the Legislature’s refusal to expand Medicaid.
The Dream Job
Kelly and Eric Dalton bought Bella Fuoco pizzeria in 2021. Their team in downtown Cheyenne serves some of the best pies, calzones, and salads in southeast Wyoming.
“This has been a dream job for us, and we’re working hard to make the dream come true,” Eric said. “But there’s definitely been some bumps along the road.”
Like many businesses across Wyoming and the nation, Bella Fuoco has struggled since the pandemic to hire employees. It isn’t easy to grow a pizza business when staffing is a daily challenge.
They’ve learned that restaurants are a volume business due to tight margins. Unfortunately, their minimal location and handmade pizza process mean they aren’t high volume. There is also a lot of after-hours paperwork and planning required to succeed. The squeeze of small margins and tight staffing make it difficult to plan for growth, and free time is nearly non-existent.
One solution would be to hire experienced, high-productivity employees that could perform essential tasks while also managing less experienced employees.
They explored this route for one part-time employee whose primary job was at a national retailer. Turned out they couldn’t afford him. They could afford to give him a raise but not benefits. The predominant overall cost of a full-time employee would be healthcare.
Turns out they cannot afford healthcare for even one full-time employee. If Wyoming had expanded Medicaid, Bella Fuoco would have a great new worker on its team today. Instead, they’re still hiring.
Coverage For Workers
Of the approximately 24,000 people in Wyoming who would qualify for basic health insurance under Medicaid expansion, roughly two-thirds are people who work jobs that don’t offer health benefits—many of these are in the service industry.
“We’d like to provide benefits, but the numbers just don’t line up,” Dalton said. “In order to do that, we’d need to grow, but we’re kind of stuck in a holding pattern right now because of the high cost of health insurance.”
States that have expanded Medicaid have seen increased productivity in their workforce, resulting in healthier employees who take fewer sick days. This can be a huge benefit for small businesses like Bella Fuoco.
A Drag On Our Economy
In every downtown across Wyoming, there are small businesses whose owners are working hard to grow and succeed but cannot afford to provide employer-based health insurance to their staff.
When small businesses struggle, so does our economy. Every dollar spent at a locally owned business turns over in their community instead of being sent out of state.
Wyoming residents already pay federal taxes that fund Medicaid in other states to cover their workers. Our legislature needs to expand our Medicaid program, bring those dollars home, and help our small businesses and local economies succeed.
